training
by paws-bells
Summary: ItaSaku Non-Massacre AU. Sequel to flirt. He is intent on laying claim to her. She is not so thrilled by his possessiveness. Meanwhile, Team Seven watches on with complete bewilderment.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** training

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (InComplete)

**Genre:** Humor/Romance

**Word Count:** 5943

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #37, training

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Non Massacre AU. Sequel to flirt. He is intent on laying claim on her. She is not so thrilled by his possessiveness. Meanwhile, Team Seven watches on with complete bewilderment.

**Completed on:** 01/05/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 03/12/11

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Sakura stared at the tall, handsome male standing beside her teammates and tried her best not to twitch. She forced herself to smile instead. It was a good thing that both Naruto and Sasuke were not looking at her; if not, surely they would have seen the disgruntlement that was painted all over her face. Sai noticed though, and he gave the kunoichi an odd glance before focusing back onto the conversation at hand.

"Nii-san, what are you doing here?" The younger Uchiha frowned slightly at his elder brother. The Uchiha heir was dressed in full ANBU uniform, his porcelain mask strapped securely to the side of a lean hip. "Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?"

The older raven-haired male gave Team Seven's only female member a long glance of acknowledgement as she approached reluctantly to see what was going on, and then he focused his attention back onto his little brother.

"My team completed the assignment earlier than expected." His voice was calm and quiet as usual, and Sakura's brow arched slightly. No wonder she hadn't seen him around for the past week or so. He had been out of Konoha again. That still didn't explain what he was doing in Team Seven's usual training area though. "I'm here to remind you that Haha-ue would like you to return on time to prepare for tonight's dinner with Hokage-sama."

If anything, Sasuke's scowl worsened at his brother's comment. Formal shindigs were never his thing after all, as the team had found out the hard way once when they had to go undercover to protect the Fire Daimyo and his wife during an important function and the bad-tempered Uchiha had gotten hit on by a drunken merchant who had thought he was a girl.

This was probably going to be nothing like that mortifying incident that had Naruto in stitches and Sasuke sulking for an entire week, but still, it had been a hard lesson learned, and judging by that look of annoyance on Sasuke's face, he remembered it all too well.

"Aa," the younger Uchiha grunted. "I know. I will not be late. Is there anything else?" It was obvious that Sasuke was more interested in resuming training. After all, it was a rare occasion that all of Team Seven could spend a day together.

Itachi appeared unfazed by his little brother's grumpy demeanor.

Sakura was rather disconcerted when she suddenly found herself under the intense scrutiny of the Uchiha heir. Not that she was not used to the older male's often times odd glances after being his unofficial medic for nearly eight months now, but the fact that he was doing so in front of her teammates made her twitchier than ever.

After all, none of the boys had caught on to the fact that their pink-haired best friend had been secretly patching up the many various injuries that Sasuke's older brother had sustained during training, missions and whatnots ever since the first time he had appeared on her doorstep one cold and wet morning. Sakura had always thought of him as an irritating thorn in her side since he seldom if ever did anything she wanted him to and always came back (often in the middle of the night, much to her chagrin) to annoy her until she gave up and healed him quickly just so that he would leave.

For Sakura, their relationship quickly grew to become that of a rather unconventional friendship that no one knew about.

Unbeknownst to her, the Uchiha had something else in mind.

Almost three months ago, he had blithely informed her oblivious self that he was interested in her, much to her blatant disbelief. The fact that he had disappeared without a word for the next two months after his firm declaration hadn't helped convince her at all that he was being serious, and oddly enough, it had made her very angry and somewhat upset that he had been playing such games with her. Then, almost two weeks ago, he had returned from his assignment and she had realized stupidly that the reason he hadn't come to see her for the past two months was because he had been stuck on a recon mission off in enemy territory. Her anger at him had no basis then, and so, she had reluctantly (or so she told herself) agreed to heal him and in return, _he_ had stolen a kiss from her—again!

It was annoying that he kept doing that whenever she was not paying attention, and what's even more aggravating was the fact that she could not seem to summon up enough self-control to stop him! It really irritated her to no end that her treacherous body appeared keen on betraying her every time he was nearby, shamelessly drinking in his presence and greedily soaking up his attention. Sakura twitched visibly just thinking of it, and once again, Sai gave his teammate a strange, considering stare.

Sakura frowned back at him, and Sai promptly gave her that irritatingly vague smile that made her scowl harder.

It wasn't helping the situation at all now that Itachi was staring at her as well.

"What?" the kunoichi snapped when she could not take it at last. Now all her teammates were staring at her. Sakura did not care; she was more bothered by the powerful ANBU Captain currently in their midst.

"If you are finally done with your super important announcement here, can we all go back to our sparring now?"

Naruto eyed his surrogate sister oddly. "Ne, Sakura-chan," he asked at last. "Why are you being so aggressive towards Sasuke's brother?" Not that Sakura was always the perfect little angel, but she was normally at least cordial towards everybody, only unleashing her scary persona on those who knew her very well, aka her teammates and best friends.

So, it was fairly unusual that she was being this touchy with the elder Uchiha.

To his credit, Itachi didn't seem to mind her irritableness.

"Actually, I'm not done yet." His voice was calm and placid, and his eyes never left hers. "My other purpose here is to escort my date to prepare herself for tonight's formal dinner."

Sakura was hardly impressed by his message, and she blatantly ignored that twinge of annoyance that flared within her at the Uchiha's statement. "That's very nice of you and all, but what does this have to do with us?" Sakura asked snappishly. "Just go and get her already!"

"Very well."

Before the grumpy pink-haired female could react, the tall Uchiha reached out and grabbed the stunned kunoichi. The rest of Team Seven could only watch in a bewildered stupor as Itachi tugged Sakura to his side. Not even looking at the now gaping female, he nodded once to the boys of Sakura's team.

"I will take my leave now. See you later, otouto."

He was about to leave with the beautiful medic-nin in tow when Naruto snapped out of his shock.

"H-hey! What are you going to do with Sakura-chan?" the blonde hollered. Sasuke was frowning a tad more ferociously than usual and Sai was quietly watchful.

Sakura was starting to recover from the fact that the lean ANBU had his fingers wrapped firmly around her wrist. She started to scowl hard at the Uchiha. "What are you doing, Itachi?" the kunoichi demanded as well. "Let go of me now or I swear that I will kick you where the sun don't shine!"

The fact that she was being so informal with the powerful shinobi was not lost on her teammates. Once again, Sai started to smile with his usual vague expression. "Ugly seems to know Uchiha-san very well. I don't think we need to worry about her; Uchiha-san will probably let go after a few more moments of exposure to her temper."

It was a good thing that Sakura was too busy being irate with one pigheaded male to be irritated with the other, and so Sai's comment went unpunished. It was a rare occasion indeed, but Naruto was hardly in the mood to celebrate. The blonde started to frown.

"Seems to know him very well?" Naruto echoed with increasing agitation. "How could Sakura-chan know Sasuke's brother very well? I can count on one hand the number of times we have seen teme's brother and still have fingers left over!"

Itachi ignored the ruckus that Sakura's teammates were starting to kick up. He focused his attention wholly on the woman before him. The petite pink-haired female whose face was still flushed from her exertions during training, tendrils of perspiration-matted hair escaping the bonds of her hair tie and framing her beautiful, heart-shaped features….

She was glaring unhappily at him.

He was not put off by that ferocious scowl on her face, however.

"My mother wishes to meet you," he informed her with little preamble whatsoever. In response, she could only gawk at his reply. In fact, three quarters of Team Seven were gaping openly, except for the still-smiling Sai. Itachi turned his attention to the amusing expression currently on the face of his incredulous little brother and continued. "I have told Haha-ue much about Sakura. She is curious to meet the person whom I have been spending so much of my spare time with."

Sakura started to sputter. Naruto had yet to pick his jaw from the ground, so stunned was he by the news. Was this supposed to be a bloody joke or what?

"You told Haha-ue…?" Sasuke could only stare at his brother with blatant disbelief. As far as he was concerned, Itachi had never mentioned the name of any female to their anxious mother, and he knew because for the past couple of years, Mikoto had been almost desperate for her workaholic eldest son to find a nice kunoichi to start a relationship with but to no avail. Itachi had humored their mother by patiently listening to her oftentimes long spiels regarding his single status despite the overabundance of females who were more than willing to date him, but still had remained mostly unattached, much to their parent's immense chagrin. And recently, Mikoto had been starting in on Sasuke as well, and was always left despairing over the single status of both her attractive, competent sons.

And now, the fact that Itachi had actually told their mother…and about Sakura too…

"…spending so much of your spare time with…?" Sasuke could not help but utter with complete bewilderment. And just when did Itachi even know Sakura that well?

Unfazed, the elder Uchiha nodded calmly. "We have been seeing each other for nearly eight months already."

Naruto, who had just managed to close his mouth, felt his jaw drop open again with shock. He squeaked in a distinctly unmanly manner. "_Eight months?_"

Sakura reacted.

"That's not true! I wasn't seeing him!" She tried to defend herself under the unbelieving/stunned/mildly curious stares of her three male teammates. "I was healing him! _Healing_! We weren't doing anything else!"

Itachi merely leveled a quiet stare at the petite female standing beside him. She was still frowning at him for purposely deluding her teammates, but he was not done yet. She was trying so determinedly to keep her connection to him secret but he was not cooperating at all. He looked at her.

"Do you kiss all your patients then, Sakura?" He proceeded to ask with nonchalance.

Naruto choked. Sasuke's eyes widened. Sai's smile became a tad larger.

Sakura turned bright purple.

"You…actually _kissed_ him, Sakura-chan?" Naruto could not help but squawk out in shock.

"I did not!" the kunoichi denied immediately. "He kissed me! I didn't kiss him back!"

It was like she was back in ninja preschool again.

"He kissed you, but you didn't retaliate?" Sasuke asked slowly, as if he was having a lot of trouble picturing the particularly disturbing image of his brother and teammate engaged in that type of relation. He really didn't want to think too much of it, but the appalling mental image refused to leave his mind.

Sakura turned even redder, if possible.

"I…I…he took me by surprise!" she blurted out quickly at last. She proceeded to look at the 'he' in question, her eyes accusing, almost as if expecting for him to clean up this mess that he had single handedly upended upon her head.

"…and you didn't retaliate after, Ugly?" Sai asked in a blandly interested manner. Sakura merely glared at her unhelpful teammate. Meanwhile, Naruto was beginning to finally recover from this second bombshell of the day.

The blonde looked at the elder Uchiha with something akin to growing admiration in his eyes. "…you actually managed to kiss Sakura-chan without her permission, and you are still alive?"

Naruto could still clearly remember the last time someone tried to steal a kiss from Sakura. Poor, gullible Lee had been brainwashed by Kakashi (who had been keen on taking his revenge on his female student because she had done something unspeakable to one of his precious Icha Icha collection) into believing that Sakura was sad and needed some good ole lovin' to perk her up. The taijutsu master had behaved oddly around the bewildered kunoichi for days, and the very moment Lee's intention became clear, the poor, _poor_ man was promptly met with one of her supercharged fists that had sent him briefly into the skies for a nice aerial view of Konoha before plummeting down back to earth again. Painfully.

Oh, Sakura-chan had eventually healed the bowl-headed, spandex-wearing nin of course, and when she had learnt that her sorry excuse of a sensei was the mastermind behind all the nonsense, she had gone straight over and given him a thump or ten, too. Kakashi could only meekly allow his student to vent her rage on him; she had warned him that if he even tried to run she was going to take her anger out on the rest of his Icha Icha books instead, and so the silver-haired Jounin had remained, and after that, no one had dared to mess with the beautiful kunoichi and her delectable, Cupid's bow lips.

But now, here was someone who had somehow managed to get past all of the pink-haired female's many, and often painful, defenses.

Naruto was almost in awe of this raven-haired ANBU, much to Sakura's growl of outrage.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." the kunoichi snapped at last. She could easily foresee that this conversation was heading towards a lot of problems for her, and she wanted out before it was too late. She even shook Itachi's hand off her wrist too, for good measure. Who was he to start manhandling her like that? "Let's just resume training."

But it was apparent that her teammates were a lot more interested in her love life (seeing that there had been no such thing before) than training now. And besides, Itachi wasn't about to let her go back to the training area.

"You will need to prepare yourself for tonight's dinner," he told her patiently.

She could only stare at him incredulously. It quickly turned to anger, of course.

"I never agreed to attend it!" She scowled fiercely. "And you never even asked! I'm not your pet, for you to drag along at your every whim!"

She was getting madder and madder by the second, just thinking of how he was being so daring as to treat her like this. Her teammates could only look on in trepidation, aware of the impending explosion.

Naruto stared at the elder Uchiha, suddenly feeling a little sorry for the man. Once upon a time, Team Seven had been completely protective over their one and only female teammate, but they had quit worrying over her soon enough, seeing that she could be completely terrifying in a blink of an eye and had proven on multiple occasions to be more than capable of protecting herself, and sometimes even saving their collective asses while she was at it too.

They had once joked that the man who would end up with Sakura had to be pitied, and it was true. The kunoichi had a temper on her and she was not exactly afraid to use it.

It was apparent that any male insane enough to take her on was going to be in for a long, uphill battle to win her affections.

Sasuke sighed inwardly to himself.

It made so much sense now that his brother would have gone for Sakura.

"Aniki, you should stop while you are ahead. In fact, you should just stop. You are making her very angry," the younger Uchiha muttered as he cast a wary eye over to the enraged female.

"Damn right you are," Sakura agreed agitatedly, her mouth pulled down in an upset frown. Really, she just could not understand why he was picking on her like that! Did he not realize how confused she was feeling right now? She was so used to being with the guys; no man had even dared to lay eyes on her thanks to the combined prowess of her teammates and herself, and she was rather pleased to be left alone, too. Work took up a great portion of her time, her continuous training took up yet another chunk of her life, and last but not least, her friends sucked up whatever was leftover.

And then _he_ strolled into her life like it was his goddamned right or something, and proceeded to take over her thoughts and attention so completely and thoroughly that she was quite naturally upset by the suddenness of it all. It was true that most women would have been flattered to have someone like him pay so much attention to them, but Sakura was not one of those women and, to be honest, he was scaring her. She was not used to feeling like she did whenever he was around, breathless and almost shy and uncertain, and she was almost sure that she didn't like those feelings too, if not for the fact that she just could not seem to get genuinely mad at him at all.

That wasn't a problem now, of course. Sakura did not appreciate what he was doing; coming here before her teammates and best friends and behaving as if he had a right to her when that was perfectly not true! He kissed her a couple of times, alright, more than a couple of times, but that was it! It certainly didn't mean that they were together, and it sure as hell did not mean that she would be willing to meet his parents just because of a few kisses! And this was absurd; just because he happened to be heir to the prestigious Uchiha clan did not mean that everyone would be jumping at the chance to meet his highborn family, and Sakura quickly decided that he was being condescending again. Well, she was not about to dance to his tune, that was for sure.

Sakura looked at her teammates, her mood for training suddenly gone. She purposely ignored a certain Uchiha heir in question and smiled grimly at Sasuke, Naruto and Sai. "You know what, guys? I don't think that I'm in the mood to train now. You can go on ahead without me; I'm going to head home to spend a nice, quiet night in _reading_."

It was apparent that she was blatantly rejecting Itachi's request/demand, and according to her teammates, it wasn't much of a surprise at all. In fact, what was more surprising was that she had actually lasted as long as she had without lashing out at the object of her irritation, namely one Uchiha Itachi.

Naruto appeared slightly put out. It would have been interesting to see how the other Uchiha would react to Sakura's temper; if he could actually keep his cool around her, or if he would whimper and run in the other direction like his younger brother did every time he unknowingly offended their pink-haired teammate.

After all, Sakura was very good at letting her fists do the talking, if all else failed.

At the moment though, the kunoichi in question was stalking off the training field and to the side to collect her water bottle and other belongings. She hadn't even glanced at Itachi as she skulked off, which indicated that she was really annoyed. The men watched silently as she promptly disappeared from sight after she took all her things, before turning collectively as one to look at the culprit responsible for their female teammate's fury.

Itachi ignored his brother's team members in favor of looking to his otouto for an appropriate answer.

"What did I do wrongly, Sasuke?"

There wasn't a hint of bewilderment whatsoever in the voice of the elder Uchiha. Nor was there any embarrassment or awkwardness in the male's calm, even tone, despite the fact that he had just been flatly turned down by the kunoichi whom he was so intent on pursuing. In fact, it was as if he was just casually asking his little brother about the time and nothing else. Naruto grimaced inwardly. He should have known that teme's brother would be even cooler than teme himself, if that was even possible.

Sasuke, on the other hand, could only stare at his aniki for a long time. For the younger Uchiha, it had been a long recurring fantasy for his all-knowing elder brother to for once admit that there was something that stumped even that prodigious mind of his. Today, his dream was coming true. His aniki was asking him for help!

Unfortunately though…

When it came to the subject of his female teammate, Sasuke was just as stumped as his brother, if not even more so. Never mind that he had known Sakura for nearly a decade already, but when it came to the emotional workings of one pink-haired kunoichi, the younger Uchiha male had long since given up on trying to understand how she ticked. Though he couldn't deny that a manual on what ticked her off would certainly be nice.

"Eh." Naruto scratched his chin as he looked at Itachi consideringly. "Are you really serious about Sakura-chan?"

The blonde was asking on the behalf of his entire team, sort of on one part concern for his pink-haired teammate, and three parts curiosity regarding the sanity of the poor man in question, kind of deal.

Of course, the 'concern for teammate' portion was most evident in those surprisingly serious sapphire eyes, and even Sai appeared quietly analytical of the lean Uchiha ANBU standing within their midst.

"He's serious," Sasuke answered for his brother, much to everyone's surprise. Sasuke still had this oddly disturbed/disgruntled/disbelieving look on his face as he glanced at his aniki. "Itachi wouldn't spend _eight months_ on Sakura if he wasn't serious."

At that, Naruto could only look impressed. Sai gave the older Uchiha an odd glance.

"Please clear this riddle up for me, Uchiha-san," the younger male asked in a deceptively polite manner. "Just what do you _see_ in The Hag, anyway?"

At that question, Naruto _and_ Sasuke frowned at their teammate.

"Sakura is going to cream you with great pleasure if she hears about what you are saying right now," the younger Uchiha remarked flatly.

Naruto agreed, nodding sagely. "That's right, man. And besides, aren't you supposed to be sorta defending her here?"

Sai merely eyed his two teammates quizzically. Sometimes, he just did not understand what they were thinking. "Why? It's not like she lacks the ability to protect herself." Sai's remark was entirely true to the nth degree. "Both of you still remember what happened the last time we tried to interfere with one of her 'dates', yes?"

As if on cue, Naruto and Sasuke visibly cringed. Obviously, that interested Itachi as well. The Uchiha gave his entire attention to the trio.

"…yeah," Naruto admitted at last. "We got smacked around by her, and then largely scolded whilst she healed us later on."

It was not that the men of Team Seven could not hold their own against their female teammate. And it sure as heck wasn't because they were holding out on her because she was a girl. Chauvinism in Team Seven had died a painful, violent, bloody death a long, long time ago, and there was really no chance whatsoever of it being revived anytime soon, not even by that pervert Orochimaru's forbidden techniques.

No, the men of Team Seven had learnt that it was better to receive their dues right away than to attempt to evade and allow their devious teammate time to think of worse and oftentimes completely humiliating revenge that would haunt them for the rest of their adult lives. And after almost eight years of intensive 'obedience training' thanks to their _aggressive_ female teammate, they had finally learnt to choose their battles wisely.

"But we are still nowhere near worse off than that man she was dating," Sasuke remarked to his brother. "He turned out to be a pervert and I believe that Sakura nearly broke all his bones for trying to get fresh with her."

Naruto winced. "And because Sakura-chan is one of the head medic-nin in the hospital, no one dared to help heal the man for two whole weeks until baa-chan stepped in, and that was after he swore up and down that he would never be a pervert again." Once again, Naruto cringed visibly. "I think he became something of an okama—probably had something to do with that broken man part of his."

At that, the other two members of Team Seven flinched.

"You are right, Sai," Naruto mumbled dejectedly. "There is no need to protect Sakura-chan at all. She's a natural born ball-buster all on her own, so scary as hell that the only thing we need to worry about is the wellbeing of the men who dare cross her path—and invoke her fury."

The blonde Jinchuuriki looked to the silent Uchiha heir.

"Are you really sure that you still want to court Sakura-chan?"

To be entirely honest, it completely bewildered Naruto that teme's brother had been doggedly pursuing their obviously reluctant female teammate for eight months already and he was actually still alive—and still very determined to have her, even to the extent of trying to coax her to meet the parents. Naruto quickly decided that either that particular Uchiha was a glutton for pain and suffering, or that all those harrowing ANBU missions had screwed up his common sense and sense of self preservation and had made him distinctly odd, just like Kakashi.

Or maybe it was just the man himself.

Sasuke looked over to his brother, and whereas the others saw an impassive façade, the younger Uchiha managed to detect the hints of amusement and growing admiration for a certain beautiful, pink-haired female. Sasuke groaned mentally.

"This is not putting you off her at all, is it?" the younger Uchiha demanded. His aniki merely eyed him calmly.

"No, it's not," Itachi admitted blandly. Then he focused his attention wholly on the three men who knew Sakura the best.

"Tell me how to get past her defenses."

* * *

Sakura was in a foul mood.

The kunoichi stalked into her living room after shutting the door behind her noisily, and then she tossed her keys and belongings onto the coffee table before heading straight for her bathroom. The pink-haired female undressed herself in quick, jerky movements as she scowled and fumed. That damn…arrogant idiot! How dare he behave as if she was his pet and that he could order her around anytime he pleased? He had no right whatsoever! And to do so in front of her teammates as well?

She emitted a loud, frustrated growl as she stepped under the showerhead and proceeded to turn on the water. It took awhile, but eventually the cold spray from the shower did manage to calm her agitated temper down somewhat. Then she began to think hard about her circumstances. How had her relationship with one Uchiha Itachi degenerated to something like this? And most importantly, what should she do about it now?

Why did _he_ have to be so damn perplexing? Granted, he had indicated his interest in her before but she had thought that he was only joking! How could he not be? She had done absolutely nothing to attract his attention and just what on earth did he see in her anyway? For all she knew, she had only healed him on multiple occasions and snarked at him some like her usual self and that was it! Was he secretly masochistic and enjoyed getting scolded or something?

Sakura heaved a large sigh. Matters concerning the opposite sex had always been so clear cut and simple to her before him, but now that he was in the picture, everything felt odd to her. _She_ felt odd in his presence. His gentle regard whenever those onyx eyes of his landed upon her made her insides flutter with strange intensity, and on the separate occasions when he kissed her…

Emerald eyes darkened unconsciously, and then Sakura groaned.

This was sheer hell!

If nothing else, the petite kunoichi absolutely hated to be confused and Itachi was doing nothing but muddling her mind up even worse! On one hand, what he was doing now was seriously annoying her and pricking at her fierce feminine pride. But on the other…

Sakura was aware that she was being appallingly shameless, but her inner self was greedily lapping up all the attention that he was giving her and, worse of all, she was beginning to suspect that he was well aware of her conflicting emotions—and was probably amusing himself at her expense, too.

Emerald eyes narrowed slightly at the infuriating thought. Well, she was not going to let him find his entertainment with her anymore! The next time she saw him again, she was going to clear everything up once and for all! No more was she going to be the nice and sweet tempered medic-nin! She would demand to know what he was trying to do messing with her thoughts and feelings like this and by golly he was going to tell her—if not there was really going to be hell to pay and she would be vindictive.

At that moment, Sakura yelped out a small sneeze.

Well, at least as vindictive as she could be with a side serving of the cold and sniffles.

Time flew when one was preoccupied in deep thought, and it was already a good twenty five minutes since Sakura had made the very _smart_ decision to take a cold shower in the middle of autumn. Never mind that it had really felt good initially, but Sakura was starting to feel a little foolish right now. The pink-haired female quickly decided to get out before she really did catch a cold and she did so promptly, turning off the shower and then reaching out of the shower area for her towel, rapidly drying herself with the large, fluffy fabric.

Warming herself up again was going to take more than that though, and as Sakura finally walked out of the bathroom wrapped in her towel, the kunoichi mused on fixing herself a cup of hot coffee and settling down to do some leisurely reading before preparing a light dinner for the night. She padded almost soundlessly out to the hallway and then into the bedroom across of it. Putting on her clothes took no time at all, and then she picked up her hairbrush from the vanity table and started to run it through her mid-length locks. The kunoichi stared absently at her reflection in the mirror. A vibrant, young woman stared back boldly, with large expressive eyes of the purest shade of emerald, and soft, pink hair that made her stand out from the crowd. Her features were pleasing; full, Cupid's bow lips, a small nose, dainty cheekbones and long eyelashes of the palest shade of rose.

Was this what Itachi saw whenever he looked at her?

Sakura blinked and then snorted softly to herself. She was passably good looking, she supposed to herself. But the notion that the Uchiha was actually attracted to her because of her supposed 'good' looks made the kunoichi huff with blatant disbelief.

Yeah, right. There were so many better looking women out there, so why pick her? And she hadn't even been exactly encouraging towards his attentions. She was grumpy, she had made it astonishingly clear on more than several occasions that she saw him as an additional irritation in her already irritable life, and never before had she shown an ounce of interest in him that was unprofessional. Sakura really did not understand how she had ended up in this situation. She wasn't a flirt, she had never acted coy before and she sure as heck was not 'extending her wily claws' in an effort to land one of Konoha's most eligible bachelors.

So why on earth was he so interested in her?

Sakura scowled as she set down her brush. Then she thought hard about her sorry state of circumstance.

Itachi was the heir to the Uchiha clan; surely there were women falling all over him just for the chance for him to look their way…

Maybe…

_Maybe_, he was just trying to use her to get those fan girls/women/grandmothers to back off?

The more Sakura thought about it, the more likely it became. Really, the wonders of self-delusion simply knew no bounds.

But then again, it did make some sense. After all, who better to pretend to have an interest in than someone who was apparently quite uninterested in return? Sakura knew enough that the raven-haired male was a very meticulous, detail-orientated person. It was what made him such an excellent shinobi in the first place. The past eight months…had he been carefully laying his tracks, making sure that his interest in her was not something that was suspiciously sudden?

Sakura wouldn't put it past the genius Uchiha heir to plan something like that, but unfortunately for her, she was just thinking way too much in this instance—and as a result, was starting to give herself a huge headache, not to mention that phantom twinge in her chest when she came to the conclusion that Itachi was most probably making use of their somewhat unorthodox friendship to rid himself of his legions of fangirls.

The annoyed kunoichi had to give herself a harsh mental smack to snap out of her gloomy stupor. She was _not_ upset at all! In fact, now that she was sure she had gotten everything figured out, it was as if a great weight had just been lifted off her shoulders! Nope, not upset at all!

With that wonderfully convincing inner prep, Sakura attempted a cheerful smile at her reflection and promptly failed miserably.

Sakura let out a loud groan and resisted the urge to bang her head against the mirror. Just what the hell was wrong with her anyway? She was bewildered and not exactly welcoming of Itachi's advances towards her, but yet the notion that he might not be genuinely interested in her hurt her somewhat. She couldn't have it both ways! Why couldn't she make up her mind? She was not normally this uncertain and wishy-washy!

The pink-haired female gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to growl. Even she was beginning to get irritated with her own indecisiveness and—that was it!

The next time she saw Uchiha Itachi they were definitely going to settle this once and for—

"Settle what once and for all?"

* * *

_::tsuzuku::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Well, I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter! As mentioned in the summary, this prompt is my latest offering for the tossing a coin/thunderstorm/flirt-verse. 'training' is a two-part instalment, and I will be putting up the second and last chapter either on next Friday or the one after that, so do sit tight and wait for it!

By the way, if the writing style feels a bit wonky in here, then it's because this fic has been written ages ago, sometime back in 2008, in fact. 'training' should have been put up a long time ago, really, but I kinda misplaced it until recently, when I was digging around for the old CP plot outline and found it along with a few other odds and ends. Ahaha, let's just say that my thumbdrive is a scary place.

For new readers who haven't read the prequels and need help figuring out the chronological orders of my various verses, please visit my profile page for the information. I have an updated list there; apologies for the confusion and inconvenience caused!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

This verse's Itachi and Sakura are not entirely like their canon counterparts; she is short tempered, hot headed and grumpy (more Inner Sakura-esque), and he is arrogant, demanding and overconfident to a fault (typical Uchiha pomposity). Still, I think they will do well together if for no other reason than the fact that they'd both serve to curb each other's overbearing tendencies.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura is not as completely oblivious to Itachi's attention as she acts; it's more like she is deliberately ignoring it—feigning obtuseness—because the implications are so distinctly surreal to her that they are downright unbelievable. But don't worry; her Uchiha suitor is pushy and assertive enough to set her straight soon enough, since he is not just going to take a 'hell, no' for an answer.

And…yes, whichever of you guessed that Itachi really doesn't get out much will find yourselves right on the money, especially since his method of courting the woman of his dreams is quite dubious and basically boils down to subtly harassing her for her attention for over eight months and then promptly deciding that it'd be a good time as any for her to meet the parents. Sakura is understandably not impressed, so Itachi is clearly going to need some help in the form of the manly men of Team Seven, though in hindsight, I'm not sure if that would turn out to be a wise idea.

…odd couple, those two. But still, my all-time favourite OTP!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Last but not least, a grateful nod of recognition towards my wonderful beta, MelissaRose85, for her seamlessly efficient editing skills and swiftness in cleaning my fics. We have been working together for over three years now; she's stuck with me through thick and thin and I have learned much from her in the process. I probably don't mention it often enough, but none of this is possible without her contribution and I am very thankful for her help.

Melissa, if you are reading this; thanks once again for being the best beta in the world for me!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing; so please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** training

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (Complete)

**Genre:** Humor/Romance

**Word Count:** 7829

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #37, training

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Non Massacre AU. Sequel to flirt. He is intent on laying claim on her. She is not so thrilled by his possessiveness. Meanwhile, Team Seven watches on with complete bewilderment.

**Completed on:** 01/05/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 15/12/11

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

That particular calm, lilting tone was completely familiar to the kunoichi but still she could not help herself from reacting. She let out a sharp hiss of surprise and whirled around swiftly to face the antagonist of her suddenly drama-filled life.

The blasted Uchiha was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe of her bedroom, looking as if he had every right to be there.

Sakura was not amused and was immediately disgruntled that she had just been caught off guard by the ANBU. She hadn't even heard him enter! Part of her lack of attention to her surroundings could be attributed to the same male currently looking at her with his rich, onyx eyes, and with just one glance at him, Sakura was becoming highly agitated all over again.

"How dare you enter my house without permission?" she accused sharply. "You are breaking in!"

He merely looked at her bristling form.

"I knocked, but you didn't answer," he replied at last. "And you didn't lock your door. Anyone could have entered."

His tone was almost reproaching, and Sakura scowled unhappily. Why was he acting so concerned about her, and causing her further confusion while he was at it?

"What are you doing here anyway?" she snapped irritably. "I'm not in the mood to entertain you right now, so can you please see yourself out?"

To nobody's surprise, he didn't appear to heed her request.

Sakura's frown worsened, and she did her best to ignore the fact that he was staring at her intently.

"Look, if this is about your dinner date-"

"It's not."

The Uchiha straightened to his full height, and belatedly, Sakura realized that he had somehow changed and washed in the hour or so since she had last seen him. He no longer had on the standard ANBU attire; instead he now wore the colors of his proud clan, his raven hair still slightly damp from his own shower. Sakura tried her best not to pay attention to his sleekly muscled physique.

"It's not?" she asked suspiciously instead.

He inclined his head once, and then started to move towards her, into her bedroom. Sakura was inwardly alarmed by the semi-predatory look in his quiet, watchful gaze. His stride was long and measured, soundless as he approached her and it was all she could do not to draw back quickly. Thankfully, he stopped a feet away from her.

His onyx gaze roved over her delicate, albeit somewhat aggrieved features, before meeting her eyes at last.

"You have indicated your reluctance to attend my family's dinner, have you not?" he asked simply.

She nodded cautiously, not exactly sure just where he was heading with his question.

"Yes…"

"Very well. I will not attempt to persuade you to change your mind."

His reply was unexpected. She blinked at him in surprise. All her previous encounters with this particular Uchiha had indicated that he wasn't the type to give up so quickly, and so Sakura was quite taken aback by his ready agreement.

"You are not lying, right?" she asked quickly. He only looked at her.

"I don't lie."

"Oh…that's good to know then…" Somehow, she felt oddly disappointed, but Sakura quickly sucked it up and looked at him once more. "Don't you need to look for another date now?"

"There is no need." He looked at her carefully, and then continued, "Since I have no intention of attending the dinner as well."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"_What_?" Before he could explain, her eyes narrowed. "Hold on—just what do you mean by that?"

Itachi merely regarded the agitated pink-haired female calmly. She appeared highly disgruntled again but the impact of her irritation was softened by her rumpled, fresh-from-a-shower appearance that he was beginning to find rather appealing.

"The purpose of attending the dinner was to introduce you to my mother." His answer was candid. "Your absence defeats that very purpose."

Sakura could only sputter. "But—but!" She started to glare again, clearly trying to hide her confusion behind her bluster.

"Why on earth would you want me to meet your parents?" she hissed with sheer incomprehension. "I'm your medic; that's it!"

To her disbelief, he refuted her statement. "No," he interrupted. "You are more than that."

The quiet, assured manner in which he spoke told her quickly that he was convinced he was right. Sakura found herself the recipient of one of his rare, gentle looks. She started to turn pink. But then she clenched her fists and shook her head mentally.

No! She had to clear things between them today!

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded fitfully. "Coming here and acting so…familiar with me! You have no right!"

It was blatantly obvious that she was trying so hard to push him away.

It was just too bad for her that he had no intention of going anywhere.

Once more, he looked at her quietly, and imagine her surprise when he actually answered her.

"That may be so, but I'm trying to earn that privilege now."

Sakura could only gape. Then she recovered quickly and frowned all over again. This was getting quickly out of hand, and the way her heart was beating rapidly was not helping matters either.

"You are trying to use me to get your parents off your back, aren't you?" she blurted out at last, trying to confirm her suspicions.

For once, he was unsure of what she was talking about. He said nothing, instead waiting patiently for her explain, and sure enough, she did so almost immediately.

"Sasuke has mentioned before that Mikoto-san has been getting on his case lately about his unattached status. I bet the situation is the same for you." She looked at him almost knowingly. "You are using me to get your mother to stop nagging, am I right?"

He could only stare at her as she started to appear pleased, almost as if she had finally gotten everything figured out. He would have been rather offended if she wasn't looking so…_adorably_ smug at the moment. She was so desperately trying to find the most absurd reasons for her refusal to accept the most obvious of them all, and part of him wondered if the prospect of his suite was that appalling for her to go to such lengths of self-delusion.

A small, amused light sparked to life in his beautiful dark grey eyes, and Sakura's own emerald orbs widened slightly.

"What?" she asked immediately. "Am I wrong in my deductions? You chose me instead of one of your many admirers because you knew that I won't be attracted to you, isn't that right?"

Her theories were getting more and more outlandish and amusing by the minute, and he started to smile at her.

Poor Sakura had to focus her entire attention on the subject at hand to keep from visibly quivering at that gentle, amused look on his handsome, aristocratic features.

"H-hey, don't give me that look!" she snapped halfheartedly in response to _that_ expression on his face. "I'm not joking." She tried again, and so preoccupied was she with her current situation that she failed completely to notice that he was slowly edging nearer towards her.

The Uchiha gave her a long look.

"Good," he spoke at length. "Because I wasn't joking either."

Belatedly, Sakura found herself tilting her head to look up at him. Just when did he get so near? They were barely inches apart, and his now serious eyes were so very mesmerizing to her that she wondered halfheartedly if he was using the Sharingan without activating it.

"So, you are admitting that you were planning to use me?"

Sakura really had no idea where she was going with her questions. All she knew was that being around him made her feel foolish and rash, and she wasn't even aware of what she was supposed to do anymore! Maybe he could clear the air once and for all now, and maybe—

"No," he answered without preamble. "But I'm admitting to you now that I'm attempting to court you, since you have failed for the past eight months to detect my intentions."

He was being brutally frank with her, and as a result she was left completely speechless.

"B-but-" She tried desperately to salvage the situation. Then his words finally sank in. She looked at him incredulously. "Wait. _You want to court me?_"

"I _am_ courting you," he corrected her easily.

Good god, he wasn't playing around with her after all. _He was serious_.

Sakura didn't know which was worse. She sputtered.

"You can't do that!" she blurted out quickly. When he merely looked at her, she quickly added. "I mean, I don't like you!"

That secretive smile of his returned again, much to her increasing fluster. Could he not see that she wasn't joking?

"Is that so?" he asked softly, his dark eyes probing and intent as he stared at her. "Shall I prove you wrong, then?"

His voice was so soft that she had to strain to hear his rich tenor. She frowned at the leanly muscled Uchiha.

"You won't be able to prove anything, because I'm—_mmph_!"

Disproving her very statement immediately, he lowered his head and kissed her to silence.

Sakura was not expecting _that_.

And it wasn't helping matters at all that the way he was kissing her now was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Whereas their previous encounters were gentle and almost chaste in nature, it was as if he had finally decided that he had given her enough time to accustom herself to him. Lightly, he tugged her stunned form to him and pressed against her almost insistently this time around, his hands coming up around her waist, spreading electrifying warmth to her body. She was stiff in the circle of his arms, her normally prickly nature immediately nonexistent, leaving nothing but shock and uncertainty behind.

But he was simply undaunted by her unresponsiveness. Calmly, patiently, he coaxed her with his lips and tongue, running himself across the seam of her closed mouth, tasting her soft lips, subtly drawing the pouty flesh in between his teeth and applying gentle pressure before releasing her again and using his tongue to soothe the lightly imprinted marks that he had left on her, brushing his lips against hers. She still wasn't participating in the kiss, but she wasn't resisting him either. He could feel her tensed form relaxing slowly under his hands, and encouraged, he pressed further.

Widened emerald locked with calm, darkened onyx.

Sakura could not decide if she liked what Itachi was doing to her at the moment. His overwhelming heat made her somewhat dizzy, his fresh rainwater scent inundated her senses and he was being so very bold in his advances towards her that she really wasn't quite sure how to react to him at all. After all, it was one thing to spar with him verbally, but it was yet another matter altogether when he was being this…touchy.

She was not equipped to handle him like this, and wasn't he supposed to be this stoic and emotionally constipated ANBU captain and heir to the Uchiha clan? He sure as hell wasn't acting like it now!

And the way that he was subtly pulling her against his leanly muscled form, not to mention how his firm lips were actively coaxing her to kiss him back…

Sakura's heart was pounding so loudly in her chest that she was certain that he could hear it as well, which would really be no surprise since he was currently plastered to her smaller form. A light, almost imperceptible shudder ran through her body. This was easily felt by him, of course, and he could sense that her resolve was beginning to waver. The large hands that rested on her waist moved and roved lazily to the small of her back, and then he had his arms wrapped snugly around her. Surprised by the feel of his strong, sleekly muscled forearms against her back, not to mention how he had daringly placed his hands on the rounded curve of her rump, Sakura emitted an outraged, albeit somewhat muffled squeal when that _pervert_ actually dared to cup her bum to press her intimately against him.

Immediately, the kunoichi stiffened and started to turn bright red at the contact. He was being so bold in his advances that the poor, normally grumpy pink-haired female was completely blindsided and bewildered as he took her by surprise again and again, not allowing her time at all to understand and attempt to evade him.

In fact, the wily Uchiha wasted no time taking advantage of her parted lips, and even though the stunned medic-nin was starting to cotton on to the fact that she was being taken advantage of and was beginning to feel her confusion clear up quickly to be replaced with affronted anger, he did not cease his sensual assault on her body. His tongue slid wetly into her parted mouth, seeking and locating hers almost immediately, and once again, the kunoichi could only freeze.

It was such an _intimate_ act, and dear god, she could taste him as acutely as he did her. Sakura's eyes widened and, finally, the realization that he was kissing her and she was actually unresisting towards his efforts hit her.

Her reaction was predictable. She finally recovered her senses and immediately tried to push away from the addictive raven-haired male. Her hands came up to his broad chest, and then she reared back, breaking the kiss.

"Itachi-"

He ducked down and easily recaptured her lips again, muffling her protests with his mouth as a long-fingered hand came up to cup the back of her head, keeping her firmly in place. She could not help the small whimper from escaping her throat when he invaded her mouth again, his skillful tongue wrapped around hers as he sucked and nibbled on her succulent, kiss-reddened bottom lip, his lithely muscular body bending easily after hers as she tried futilely to arch away from him. He was not letting up on her at all, and together with the intensity of his hot, drugging kisses and his overpowering, convincing aura, Sakura of the iron senses started to cave.

She had tried her best to resist him though; common sense and instincts informed her repeatedly that she was supposed to be mad at him in the first place and besides, letting him have his way in an instance like this was only going to encourage him in the future. She really should be kicking his ass for the liberties that he was so shamelessly taking with her right now, but for some reason she just could not force herself to oppose him.

At the moment, his urgent, deep kisses felt so very decadent to her, and she was simply blown away by his passionate, unrelenting onslaught. Who knew that Uchiha Itachi could kiss like that, and who would have guessed that he was attempting to _court _her?

The notion still felt so very odd to Sakura, but at the moment the matter was unconsciously pushed aside as Sakura could barely focus on the situation at hand as it was. Maybe…it wasn't so bad after all, to stay as she was right now and to allow him to touch her thusly…

Delicate, feminine hands that were formerly resisting towards him slowly started to fist into his shirt instead, her wide, mesmerizing eyes started to relax and close, and tentatively, she started to respond to his kiss. Her tongue danced against his lightly at first, and then she leaned forwards slightly to add her own pressure to the kiss, much to his quiet rumble of approval.

Emboldened, she started to take a more active interest in what they were doing, curiously moving her lips against his, darting her tongue out to run against the firm contours of his mouth, tilting her face up to his so that he could have better access to her. He was bemused by her sudden change in temperament, but did allow her free reign to conduct her own exploration. Slowly, she became eager and enthusiastic, and before long she was probing her own tongue into his mouth, running it against his teeth and tongue, unconsciously tiptoeing onto her feet to get as close to him as possible.

Her participation clearly pleased him and he encouraged her ardent attentions, running his hands soothingly and languidly over her pliant body, tugging her to lean against him even more. She didn't seem to notice that he was maneuvering them to the side, and didn't seem to care overly much when he proceeded to back her against the nearest wall so long as she was allowed to ravage his mouth as fiercely as he was doing to her. A small, sexy sound escaped her unwillingly when he boosted her with a powerful arm around her waist to raise her to be more on the same level with him, and instinctively her arms went around his neck to steady herself and he pressed her resolutely against the wall.

Easily, he proceeded to wrest from her the role of the aggressor, taking control of the kiss again and making her whimper unconsciously before withdrawing from her delectable, kiss-swollen lips. Her eyes were open and glazed with growing passion, and his own onyx gaze darkened at the delicious sight. Then he leant down and nibbled at the side of her mouth, before peppering wet kisses along the line of her jaw, and to the sensitive flesh of her ear. She shuddered and gave out a small, keening whine that sounded impossibly sexy to him, and he answered with a low, masculine growl that did strange things to her insides. His scent was clouding her already dazed mind, and as he continued to tease her earlobe with his teeth and hot breaths, she started to pant softly.

Dear god, who would have known that he was so…_persuasive_!

Sakura could only clutch at the Uchiha helplessly as his hot, wet mouth somehow ended on her neck now, and as he sucked and bit down lightly on her thundering pulse point, it was all she could do to remain upright. The kunoichi squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to control herself but somehow that only served to amplify the pleasurable sensations that the tall, raven-haired ANBU was giving to her. Damn it, but he was so very good at what he was doing that she shouldn't have been surprised! But yet she was, and the way he was touching her made her ache for more…this was so unseemly!

He was aware that she was still trying futilely to control herself, but the fact that she was unable to resist him and was so very ardently responsive filled him with blatant masculine satisfaction. A part of him had no doubt that she had never allowed any man to see this side of her before, and that he had managed to evoke such a sensual reaction from her pleased him greatly. She might claim all she want that she was not interested in him at all, but her body language would tell no lie and he could read her as easily as he would a book. He had once deduced that she would be a very passionate female with the correct amount of stimulation and under a suitable male, which happened to be him and no other, of course, and he was right. She was so very addictive and feisty, her curvy physique and soft, delectable mouth a complete complement to her fiery and almost fierce nature. Her prickly character would ensure that she would show no one else but him this sensuous, receptive side of her, and for obvious reasons, that pleased him greatly.

She was perfect for him.

In complete contrast to his gentle mother, the future Lady of the Uchiha clan would learn to take no nonsense from the clan elders, and would show subservience to no one else but her Lord and mate. Of course, there was still a long way to go before Sakura could be coaxed into accepting that position where most other women would have jumped at the chance, but the handsome, raven-haired male knew that she would be worth every bit of his effort. Never let it be said that Uchiha Itachi did things by half measures; no, he had known almost from the beginning what he wanted from this alluring and spirited little female, and he was doing everything within his might to have her pay attention to him in the exact same manner in which she had unwittingly attracted him to her.

It would be so very easy now to continue ravaging her, to complete the act that he had started to prove that she was just as vulnerable to him as he was to her. At the moment, she was willing and eager, and her sweet scent called out to him as usual, in fact even more so now since she was fresh from a shower, the smell of mangoes and cream prevalent in her soft, silky skin. He luxuriated himself in her scent, and then flicked his tongue out to trail a wet, sensual line down the graceful column of her throat. She mewled softly in reaction, and at that moment, he wanted nothing better than to tug her to her bed, divest her of her clothes, and help himself to her pliant, delectable body, claiming her sexually and marking her as his. She was so much more enticing than he had allowed himself to imagine, and he had quite a long time to think about this sassy kunoichi of his.

Unfortunately, he was well aware that she was not quite ready to take such a step with him yet, no matter how willing she appeared to be at the moment. Always one to plan ahead and taught from birth to always look at the bigger picture, Itachi had no intention of giving into a moment's pleasure, no matter how tempting it was, only for his prize to be scared off because of his impatience and over eagerness. Their relationship was still in its fledgling state, his tie to her still tenuous at best. Right now, he had to entice her into agreeing to allow him to get closer to her; anything else would come later, and he had no doubt that she would be worth every bit of his patience, if the eager, yet alluringly innocent passion that she was revealing to him now was just a little preview of how fiery she could become with the right persuasion.

And so, almost regretfully, the Uchiha started to ease off on the intensity of their passionate encounter. Slowly, carefully, his kisses became less urgent and more languid, the hot sucking pressure of his mouth on her skin replaced by small, light, completely unapologetic, openly affectionate exchanges that he peppered down the graceful arch of her neck. She shifted slightly against him, still somewhat dazed by what had just happened, and belatedly, he wondered if she was aware of the fact she had been running her fingers gently through his dark hair for quite some time already.

Eventually, the passion induced haze that he had so successfully created around the two of them disappeared completely, and after that sense of complete urgency between the young couple faded away as well, the kunoichi's glazed eyes slowly cleared and he watched her quietly as she finally registered the uninhibited nature in which she had behaved with such abandon around him but minutes ago.

To his inner amusement, she started to turn bright red.

It was definitely an uncomfortable situation for Sakura, and how on earth had she ended up pinned between him and the wall anyway? And that languorous, currently somewhat sated look of masculine amusement in his dark eyes…

It was hard to breathe looking at him like that, but suddenly she remembered what they were arguing about prior to this and she started to scowl all over again. He could have told her that her bluster wasn't working at all this time around, especially since she was looking so sexily disheveled and rumpled, face still tinted pink from their previous activity and lips red and pouting from his earlier attentions.

But Sakura was undaunted. The kunoichi was getting riled up again just thinking of how she had been promptly taken advantage of by this arrogant Uchiha, and the fact that her own body had betrayed her by shamelessly soaking up all his attentions and even begging for more made her even more irritated. Her fierce pride demanded that she do something to make up for her temporary lapse of judgment, and Sakura was in full agreement.

Her brilliant emerald eyes narrowed, and before he could even anticipate how she was going to react she had fisted her right hand, cocked it, and then proceeded to plough it angrily into his gut. In their shared proximity the unexpected sucker punch that she had delivered to him was awkward at most, but even though she had used none of her superior chakra-enhanced strength, the power she packed in that single hit and into his unprotected solar plexus made him flinch slightly.

He was not accustomed to being attacked by a female whom he had just kissed so thoroughly, and especially when he also knew for a fact that she had thoroughly enjoyed their encounter. But she wasn't acting coy and trying to display maidenly outrage over his stealing a kiss from her. No, Sakura was genuinely miffed, and it became very clear to him that his kissing her was the least of her agitation.

She glared at him with feminine indignation. "Don't you dare use me to prove your point again," she hissed as she finally saw fit to remove her small but deadly fist from his gut and started to prod him fiercely in the chest instead. It was apparent that she was warning him that she did not take well to being treated like a weak subservient woman, who would just roll over and allow him to do whatever he pleased with her anytime he wished.

His onyx eyes gleamed with genuine appreciation and admiration of her fierce, prideful spirit. The urge to tame her for himself was growing with each and every moment he spent with her, and after eight months of her acquaintance, he was now very certain that there would be no other woman for him—except this petite little kunoichi with a temper like a lioness when riled, and whose chakra was so achingly warm and gentle that he had been unknowingly hooked almost from the very beginning.

Imagine Sakura's bewilderment when the Uchiha's dark gaze focused so intently upon her that she promptly lost a good part of her indignation. Then, he nodded once in response to her aggravated demand, much to her surprise. The fact that he was actually respecting her request stunned her somewhat—she had never thought him to be this agreeable, to be honest—

Then his mesmerizing gaze turned fierce.

"You will let me court you," he demanded suddenly in an uncharacteristically hard voice, and she frowned at him.

"Now why would I want you to do that for?" she retorted. Just imagine all the grief he would cause her!

He looked at her calmly.

"Do you need to be persuaded?" he asked, completely serious.

She stared at him for a long time. Was he persistent or was he persistent?

"It depends," she replied testily at last, not too certain about this emotion that she was feeling at his firm determination to woo her. "Do you need a flying boost out of my apartment?"

Unfortunately for her, he was hardly intimidated by her threat. After all, it was rather hard for him to be wary when she was all but wrapped snugly in his arms. Despite the fact that she had shown him but moments ago that she did not take kindly to being patronized and that she was not above using her fists to settle the matter if she had to, he was not the least put off by her aggressiveness, if that darkened glint in his eyes was of any indication. The Uchiha remembered the advice that his brother and his teammates had imparted to him.

"_Despite her grumpy behavior, Sakura actually takes the time to consider the situation before she gets violent and snappy," Sasuke remarked cautiously. Naruto nodded in agreement, and then added his own two cents. "Yup, all you need to do is to keep surprising her, catching her off guard and not allowing her to think too much, and you may actually get somewhere with her."_

Sai gave his vague smile. "And if all else fails, Ugly seems to have an ungodly appreciation for good manners. As genuine as you can manage it, of course, or she will hit even harder."

_The men of Team Seven gave a collective wince, all borne from shared experience. _

It certainly explained why Sasuke had learnt to become more cordial to people from all walks of life as the years passed, and less arrogant as befitting his clan status. His brother was literally being taught courtesy one punch at a time, and it was all thanks to this little pink-haired female currently fuming quietly in his arms.

"Let me go," Sakura demanded grouchily at last.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't budge as she prodded at him with an index finger. "And what will I get in return?" he asked her instead.

She looked at the raven-haired Uchiha with disbelief and then scowled. "You won't get attacked by me, for one," she snapped, starting to get irritated again by the blockheaded man. It was odd, but she was not the least threatened or alarmed by her forced proximity to him. A part of her was secretly annoyed with herself for being unable to get genuinely mad at this particular Uchiha, and she growled softly with agitation.

He looked down at her with a long, considering gaze.

"I think I will take my chances," he remarked at last, his masculine, lilting voice placid and calm. As if to further solidify his claim, his sleekly muscled arms tightened slightly around her waist. "I happen to enjoy very much the feel of your body fitted against mine."

His statement was delivered so bluntly and frankly that for a brief moment she could only stare at him. Then, true to her nature, she started to turn bright red again.

"Y- you-" she sputtered. Was he trying to be funny? This was not amusing at all!

His eyes softened, and her breath caught in her throat. Then he lowered his dark head, and lightly nuzzled her cheek with such blatant affection that she was immediately left speechless.

"Let me court you, Sakura." His voice was gentle against her ear, and so very persuasive as he reiterated his request again, but still she could easily detect his unwavering determination. Her brilliant emerald eyes darkened involuntarily as he dropped a small kiss on the side of her mouth. Oddly enough, the heat that he was generating soothed her, and despite herself she felt her muscles relax even more against him. She remained silent in his arms, but the fact that she was no longer demanding to be freed encouraged him.

He gifted her with yet another chaste kiss, this time on her soft lips.

"I only wish to know you better," he coaxed quietly, much to her bewilderment. "Will you consider my suit?"

She stared at his intent expression for a long time. At last, after months of subtle nuances and wooing from the dark-haired Uchiha, did realization finally dawn for one highly intelligent, if not somewhat oblivious, pink-haired kunoichi.

"You really _are_ serious." She sounded genuinely surprised, as if having recently discovered her revelation. Then, she immediately felt rather foolish for voicing out her discovery. So all those times when he kept coming over to her, when he kept visiting her…

So he wasn't trying to annoy her after all.

Sakura still looked stunned, and then she started to see him in a new light.

Finally.

Those pure, onyx eyes of his looked at her calmly. "I have been nothing but serious, Sakura," he informed her candidly. "Whenever it comes to you."

Sakura was at a loss for words, and suddenly, she was not sure how to react to him. This man wanted to _court_ her. He was _genuinely_ interested in her.

Belatedly, Sakura wondered if all his ANBU assignments had screwed up his mind somewhat.

Still backed up against the wall by him, she allowed herself to lean completely against the surface, closing her eyes as she thought hard about her current circumstances, even as her hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose in a display of exasperated disbelief.

"I think you are crazy," she remarked at last with a small huff. She cracked open an eye to stare at him balefully, but he merely waited patiently for her to make her decision, just like he had waited patiently for her for the past months.

Sakura frowned inwardly at that thought. He had been waiting for her the entire while, and there she had been, completely oblivious to his intentions. Sakura really felt like an idiot right now.

What should she do now? What to say? How to go from here?

The questions floating around in her head really did make her frown this time, and honestly, Sakura felt that she would have been better off without Itachi's attention…

Then she thought hard about it, and never one to like lying to herself (overly much, at least), Sakura realized reluctantly that while her life might have been a lot less complicated without Itachi's presence, it would also have been a lot emptier as well. Her life revolved basically around work, missions and friends, and if not for the willful entrance of a certain Uchiha clan heir, her love life would have been literally nonexistent. Not that she was exactly giddy and overjoyed by the man's arrogant and pushy behavior, and the kunoichi would never admit it aloud even on threat of death, but maybe, having Itachi around wasn't all that _bad_.

She sighed as she finally reached the inevitable conclusion. It was apparent to her that the raven-haired Uchiha was not planning to leave her alone any time soon, and it was also equally obvious that his determinedly dogged nature would ensure no peace for her should she choose not to accept his suit—and not be able to come up with an acceptable reason while she was at it. A small part of her was still curious as to just what he had seen in her that had attracted him so; there were so many girls who would have been willing to throw themselves at him at any given day and as much as she wanted to ask, Sakura was mortified to realize that she didn't have the courage to, at least, not at the moment.

And so, there was no choice but to discover why—the old fashioned way.

But how would the people closest to her react to this new change in her life? The fact that Itachi had actually escaped her teammates unscathed had indicated that he had gained their support somehow, and Sakura knew that she shouldn't be surprised; his younger brother was part of her team, after all. And what about her teachers? Kakashi? Shishou?

A new thought occurred to Sakura. Oh god, shishou.

Her head snapped up so fast that she nearly collided into his chin.

"Shishou will be attending your clan's dinner tonight," she blurted out suddenly.

The Uchiha nodded once, not the least perturbed by the appalled expression on Sakura's face. The kunoichi could only look at him.

"Then what are you still doing here?" the pink-haired female demanded. "You are the clan heir; you are supposed to show respect for your Hokage by being present when she arrives!"

Imagine Sakura's incredulity when the Uchiha shrugged. She was so incredulous that she missed completely the considering stare that Itachi was directing towards her.

"I'm sure Sasuke would be able to explain my absence," he stated casually. She looked at him suspiciously.

"Explain?" she echoed. "Sasuke won't have to explain a thing at all if you leave and return home right now!"

It was as if he didn't hear her demand at all.

"Why would I want to do that? To return to the clan property," his voice was bland, and then he lowered his tone, became almost husky as he looked at her. "When I can stay here with you?"

Sakura turned pink at his heated stare.

"I never said that you could stay." She recovered forcibly and retorted with some difficulty. Then her emerald gaze honed into a fine glare. "Go back."

In response, his arms merely settled themselves even more firmly around her waist, much to her outrage. Then, he drew his face nearer to her, his gaze intent and almost calculating in nature.

"And what will that…get me?" When she frowned at him, he continued. "What are you willing to promise me in return, Sakura?"

He was blatantly trying to wrangle something out of her; that much she was aware of. And she had an inkling just what he wanted from her. The kunoichi knew that she should be angry with him for being so annoyingly impossible, but somehow, she only felt oddly exasperated instead. He had been nothing but confusing this entire day, but the fact that even now he was gently stroking with his callused fingers the small sliver of flesh that peeked out from between her shirt and shorts rendered her unable to even stay annoyed at him for long periods of time. There was just something in his touch, as well as the way he looked at her, she supposed, but Sakura quickly dismissed her unrelated thoughts before it could get any more out of hand. She certainly had no intention of mooning after Uchiha Itachi right before the man himself, darn him.

She let out a gusty sigh. She must be mad, Sakura thought to herself, to let him push her buttons like that. Utterly mad.

"I will consider what you said," she allowed cautiously. There was no need to commit herself completely, after all. Who knows, he might lose interest in her just a few days down the road. Sakura conveniently chose to neglect the fact that this was the same man who had spent the last eight months or so of his time wholly on her.

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, he was unimpressed by her meager promise. His rich, onyx eyes gleamed with lazy, masculine amusement, though.

"You know," he started mildly. "I can always remain here to convince you-"

Immediately, Sakura knew where he was about to go with that sentence. Worst of all, the expression in his eyes indicated that he was actually considering that possible scenario. Sakura really had no wish whatsoever for shishou to know of her oddball relationship with Uchiha Itachi, which was what would definitely happen if he was missing from the dinner and Tsunade enquired about it.

"Alright! I accept you!" she blurted out at last. The way his eyes glinted with slight triumph immediately made her snap in reflex. "And wipe that smug look off your face before I do it for you."

In response, he smiled at her, a small but rare smile that he seldom showed to anyone. Sakura drew a sharp breath at the look on his face, and then renewed her efforts at wriggling away from his firm hold on her. He let her go this time, arms loosening around her femininely curvaceous form and allowing her to put some distance between the two of them. Sakura was relieved and strangely disappointed by the loss of his proximity, and it made her frown again.

"You should leave now," she muttered as she absently fixed her disheveled clothes and rumpled up appearance. "You are going to be late."

He was hardly offended by how she was desperately trying to kick him out of her house every time he happened to drop by. It was obvious that she was easily flustered by him, and privately, he found her embarrassment amusing—and endearing. She was trying so hard to stay unaffected by him, and failing so miserably but that was what had attracted him to her even more—her failure to conceal her emotions to those whom she cared about.

And slowly, surely, he was inching his way to the top of that list of people.

His current progress with her pleased him. She might not be agreeable to a meeting with his family right now, but he was certain that one day soon, that would change. She was softening towards him; he could feel it in the way she no longer protested as much whenever he came near, in the way she allowed herself to stay within his embrace without much fuss, even in the way she was beginning to look at him in a new light.

Sakura started to hurry out of her bedroom, and she escorted the Uchiha towards the exit of her house as she did so. He walked beside her, and was mildly amused by the look of disgruntlement that was displayed so guilelessly on her face. She threw open the latches, and pulled opened the main door before standing to the side and gestured for Itachi to go through. Then she frowned slightly as he stood at the threshold to regard her.

"And for god's sake, don't tell shishou about this," she spoke quickly, almost as if worried that he would forget. Before he could even demand a reason why, she answered him. "If she makes life difficult for me, I will make life _hell_ for you."

Her implications were obvious, but only after a long, firm look at her did he nod at last in agreement. He could afford to keep quiet about their relationship for now. Besides, he was well aware that his silence was only a temporary reprieve for her. With his status as heir to the great Uchiha clan and herself the prodigious disciple of the Godaime Hokage, it wouldn't be long before the matter of his courtship of her came to light before the public of Konoha.

After all, just because he promised not to speak of it did not mean that her teammates would be similarly constrained.

Privately, Itachi decided that it would be amusing to see her expression when it became obvious that everyone was aware of their budding relationship. She was probably going to sulk most adorably, but for some reason or another, he found himself looking forward to it.

After all, he had just discovered an excellent way to soothe her temper, an act that was proving to be extremely pleasurable for the both of them.

"You drive a hard bargain." His beautiful, lilting voice was filled with gentle teasing.

Sakura didn't know if she liked this part of him at all. His eyes were warm as he looked at her, a small almost-smirk on his thin, well-defined lips.

"Just go already," she sighed at last. There was no longer any aggression in her tone.

He merely responded by a gentle caress to her cheek.

She reddened again, much to his increasing amusement.

"I will return later tonight," he promised.

"I didn't ask," she grumbled softly to herself. He heard her easily, all the same, but was not offended. Then, she added. "I'm definitely not going to wait for you to come back."

To her inner grief, his eyes gleamed with good humor.

"In that case, I will make sure to complete my duties earlier, then." His reply was bland, and she really did frown at him then.

"You-"

He cut her off by ducking down and catching her lips in a long and hard kiss, tongue and all. He was relentless and dominating as he invaded her mouth with such sensual thoroughness, and when he finally pulled back, the poor female was suitably dazed, much to the Uchiha's smug satisfaction. It completely failed to occur to her that she had just been kissed in her apartment hallway, where anybody could have walked by to see her heated exchange with the prodigious Uchiha clan heir.

She recovered quickly, though.

"Don't do that!" she hissed irritably as the lean Uchiha straightened back to his full height, but there was little heat behind her words.

She was so easily flustered and it was simply amusing, not to mention satisfying that he could ruffle her feathers with such ease. His lips twitched slightly, and he looked at her with such affection that Sakura could feel herself relenting to him again, much to her inner disgust.

Woefully, the kunoichi realized that it was highly probable that she was never going to be able to get genuinely mad at this particular Uchiha again, and that dubious 'honor' was something that even Sasuke hadn't achieved in the almost eight years that they were together as a team, and yet his elder brother had easily achieved that feat in just a little over eight months. Sakura didn't know whether to feel sorry for herself or not. Was she always this lucky?

"I will be back soon." His tone was a rich, masculine timbre, full of promise and the pink-haired female actually turned bright red at his less-than-innocent implications, delivered in a completely innocent manner, of course. Her eyes flew straight up to him, and the knowing glance in his dark, onyx eyes made her flush even harder.

"You are starting to annoy me again." She looked away forcibly and muttered quickly instead.

He was not fooled by her. The lazy amusement in his beautiful eyes increased a notch, and then he turned and started to walk down the hallway. She watched him leave, and only when he had fully disappeared from sight did she shut the door with a soft, exasperated sigh.

That blasted Uchiha. He was so impossibly pigheaded, blunt and arrogant! Not to mention completely determined not to be deterred by her resistance to his advances.

Resistance that was beginning to waver in a most alarming manner.

Grudgingly, Sakura decided that she had to commend him for that dogged tenacity of his. She wouldn't have given him the time of the day had he not been the assertive type, forcing her to pay attention to him, daring her to look at him in a new light.

And boy, had she _looked_.

Sakura sighed again.

This was really all his fault.

But she didn't blame him. Not entirely, at least.

Emerald eyes softened reluctantly with gentle amusement and grudging affection.

Maybe having him around _really_ wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

_::owari::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

And this chapter wraps up 'training!' I do hope that some of you have at least derived a bit of entertainment from this two-shot. While this old fic is admittedly not one of my best works, I still find myself quite partial to this verse all the same. I'm not sure if there will be a sequel after this; we will just have to wait and see if my muse is willing to oblige in the near future!

Besides, the ending here hints strongly of a new beginning—a new understanding—between Itachi and Sakura, which seems like a good place for me to stop at if any, so for now at least, that will be all for the 'tossing a coin'-verse!

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Yes, I know that Sakura is something of an obnoxious/oblivious twit here, but that's because she has some rather extreme denial issues to work through and, to further compound that, is also stubborn as a mule (which naturally makes the situation twice as problematic and her short temper also does not help matters any).

Aha, I'm not really sure what happened when I was plotting this verse's Sakura, but she turned out to be quite the ornery character who obviously does not appreciate people making decisions for her, which explains why she is so adamant against the idea of Itachi. The man had, after all, just decided all by himself that he was going to keep her come hell or high water, and in typical arrogant Uchiha fashion, had gone out of his way to do exactly just that, without even consulting her opinion in the first place. Therefore, she is understandably aggravated by the upheaval in her life and, in response to his highhanded ways, is determined to be as deliberately difficult as possible whenever it comes to him—even when her heart is quite obviously not in it.

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Nothing else to comment on; from what I can see, this chapter is pretty much self-explanatory. Once again, hope you guys enjoyed this!

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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws


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